Sydney Table | Media Release

May 4, 2017

Carriageworks and Vivid Sydney today announced the lineup of chefs and creative team for Sydney Table, a series of bespoke dining experiences staged over four nights from 14-17 June at The Clothing Store.

Sydney Table pairs some of New South Wales’ leading chefs with creative elements from contemporary music to art and design, promising an unforgettable dining experience. Curated by Carriageworks Farmers Market Creative Director Mike McEnearney, the participating chefs are:

O Tama Carey (Lankan Filling Station), Wednesday 14 June 2017

Clayton Wells (Automata), Thursday 15 June 2017

James Viles (Biota), Friday 16 June 2017

Ben Sears (Moon Park), Saturday 17 June 2017

Following a sold-out series of Sydney Table in 2016, Mike McEnearney joins forces with creative director Tony Assness to pair a fresh lineup of some of Australia’s most respected chefs with artists, designers and musicians, up close and in their element at The Clothing Store, home to Carriageworks’ recently announced Artist Studio Program. Lee Tran Lam will serve as Master of Ceremonies for each of the dinners.

Against the backdrop of an industrial heritage setting, diners will feast on the talents of some of NSW’s top chefs and creatives, drawing inspiration from fresh, locally sourced produce to create a sensational menu with matched wine and premium beverages by Scotchmans Hill, Asahi Super Dry, VOSS Artesian Water from Norway and Archie Rose Distilling Co.

Carriageworks Director Lisa Havilah said: “After a hugely popular launch in 2016, we are thrilled to remount Sydney Table for Vivid Sydney 2017. The series of intimate dinners will celebrate the synergy between some of the most exciting food players and creative forces from Sydney and surrounds, to create an exceptional and unrepeatable experience for diners.”

Carriageworks Farmers Market Creative Director Mike McEnearney said: “We have sought to bring together the best of food and art in one room, providing a meeting of the minds. Seasonal produce sourced from the Carriageworks Farmers Market will provide the palette for a singular culinary experience, offering diners the opportunity to explore their gastronomical and artistic curiosity in one setting. It will be akin to a dinner party in the green room with your favourite chef and creative.”

Clayton Wells’ first restaurant, Automata opened at The Old Clare Hotel, Chippendale in September 2015. Since then, it has been named one of Australia’s hottest restaurants in The Weekend Australian, was awarded 2* in Australian Gourmet Traveller’s Restaurant Guide 2017 and received two hats in Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide. He was named hottest chef in Australia by The Weekend Australian and Time Out Sydney’s Chef of the Year 2016. Wells previously worked at three-hatted Sydney restaurant Quay, where he was chef de partie in Peter Gilmore’s brigade and later at Tetsuya’s as junior sous chef. Clayton moved to Europe in 2009, travelling and working in Scandinavia, before moving to London to open Michelin-starred Viajante with Nuno Mendes as senior sous chef. It was at Viajante that Clayton met Loh Lik Peng, beginning a long friendship that would later see them team up to open Automata. Before doing so, Clayton moved back to Sydney in mid 2011 to open David Chang’s first Momofuku restaurant outside of New York, serving as Ben Greeno’s sous chef for three years.

O Tama Carey is described by Gourmet Traveller as ‘one of the city’s most talented and intuitive chefs’. She left her post as Head Chef of Italian hotspot, Berta to regenerate and explore, spending her time writing for SBS Food, travelling and creating impermanent dinners. Her current project is a Sri Lankan Street Food enterprise. The speciality, hopper, is a savoury Sri Lankan bowl shaped pancake made with a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk. Lankan Filling Station is currently sourcing a permanent location, whilst operating a regular stall at Carriageworks Farmers Market.

Ben Sears is the former Head Chef of Claude’s and Moon Park in Redfern, a modern Korean Bistro that he co-owned and operated alongside his life partner, Eun Hee An. The menu at Moon Park was informed both by their training and by Eun’s childhood, growing up in Gyeong-ju and Ulsan in Korea with her grandmother. Spears previous experience also extends to Cutler & Co and Three, One, Two in Melbourne, and at L’Enclume in North England.

James Viles is Head Chef and Director of two hatted Biota Dining and Rooms in Bowral. Committed to sustainability and imaginative modern food, his vision was to create a dining destination in regional NSW that supported both local farmers and growers, incorporating seasonal botanicals and drawing on both propagating and gathering for the menu. Winning a coveted chef’s hat in the first year of opening, Biota Dining has become one of the most awarded regional restaurants in NSW. The restaurant went on to win a second hat in 2012, as well as the Sustainability Award for its commitment to using sustainable practices and sourcing its produce ethically, as well as growing much of its produce on site.

Tony Assness will collaborate with the chefs and artists to fuse all the elements each night. Renowned for masterminding the legendary Sydney launches of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge and Strictly Ballroom The Musical, he’s also previously collaborated with Sydney Dance Company Artistic Director, Rafael Bonachela and former Brisbane Festival Artistic Director, Noel Staunton. He worked alongside Academy Award Winner, Catherine Martin as ‘party design consultant’ on the film, The Great Gatsby, and was more recently engaged as Set Designer for Pinchgut Opera’s production of Iphigénie en Tauride directed by Lindy Hume. He recently staged a dinner for Mauro Colagreco, Argentine chef at the two-Michelin star restaurant Mirazur in Menton, France, for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, regarded as the ‘Oscars of the food world’.

Lee Tran Lam, Sydney-based writer, blogger and FBi radio ‘Local Fidelity’ presenter, will act as Master of Ceremonies for each of the dinners. Lam has lovingly surveyed Sydney’s dining scene on her blog, The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry for almost 10 years. A podcast bearing the same name features interviews and insider tips on the best places to eat and drink in Sydney. Lam has also contributed to the Good Food Guide and was the former cafe reviewer for Sydney Morning Herald. Her other work has appeared in the likes of The Big Issue, Rolling Stone and The Lifted Brow in the form of features, music reviews and short stories.

ABOUT CARRIAGEWORKS:

Carriageworks presents a contemporary multi-arts program that engages artists and audiences with contemporary ideas and issues. The program is artist led and emerges from Carriageworks’ commitment to reflecting social and cultural diversity. The Carriageworks artistic program is ambitious, risk taking and unrelenting in its support of artists. Carriageworks is a cultural facility of the NSW Government and is supported by Arts NSW. The Carriageworks program can be viewed at www.carriageworks.com.au.

ABOUT VIVID SYDNEY:

Vivid Sydney is the world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas, which for 23 days – from 26 May to 17 June 2017 – transforms the Harbour City with its unique colourful, creative canvas. In 2016 Vivid Sydney attracted a record 2.31 million attendees. Vivid Sydney is owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency. Vivid Sydney features large scale light installations and projections – Vivid Light; music performances and collaborations – Vivid Music (including Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House); and creative ideas, discussion and debate – Vivid Ideas, all celebrating Sydney as the creative hub of the Asia-Pacific. Vivid Sydney is in its ninth year. For more information visit www.vividsydney.com.